Daddy has been wanting to bring C cycling. Our first attempt was 2 Saturdays ago. We reached ECP and managed to find a parking lot in the usually packed carpark. The weather was great and we couldn't believe our luck in getting a lot in 5 min.

Then we headed off to the bicycle kiosk where we spotted a shinny new 2-seater bicycle which has a carrier in the front for C. Then, I realised I had forgotten to bring my wallet (went groceries shopping the day before and had forgotten to put it back into C's diaper bag) and Daddy had forgotten to withdraw cash. So while C and I waited at the kiosk for Daddy; he had gone to withdraw money at the nearby ATM, C was admiring the bicycle and wanted to climb onboard.

Then Daddy came back with the bad news; the ATM was out of cash!! I promptly went to the counter and asked if they accept NETS but was very disappointed when the cashier at the counter shook her head.

Ahh!! C was so sad, as we walked back to our car, she kept looking back at the kiosk and uttered, "So sad, no bicycle." We then promised our Spark that we would come again. Daddy and I made a detour to have our lunch at Parkway Parade then.

Then on Deepavali, we wanted to go too but it was pouring so our plans were thwarted. Then on Sat, we actually went there with our god daughters and Uncle JM and Aunt Angie. We were already walking there when it started drizzling again!

Man can propose all we want, but really it is God who disposes.

But we didn't give up and after our car washing session just now, Daddy and I brought Grand Mummy, Daddy, Aunt Margaret, Aunt Diana and C's favourite, Uncle Ben down to ECP! This time, we were elated that the weather was kind and we had our rides.

C was thrilled because this was her first time on the bicycle with Daddy (actually, me too!) and she was commanding Daddy to go slowly or quickly. It was really fun and a great way to spend the rest of the Sunday. We rode all the way to Bedok jetty where we saw loads of fisherman wannabes. Children were also trying to see if they could get something out of the waters with their little rods.

Moral of the Story: Never give up!

(Collage no.2 taken from Aunt Di {with permission} )

Sigh... I tried to download pictures from my camera but somehow I lost them. Don't ask me why or how, I am also frantically searching for them on my notebook. What's missing: All of us enjoying our food!

Ha! I didn't lose the pictures after all! They were hiding in a very secluded folder and it was because of Daddy that I found them.

Then, we went for a sumptuous dinner. It was just hawker food but we cleaned out the plates and thoroughly enjoyed the food which we had to queue a long time for. We had a wonderful experience and it was nice to get out of the house and get in touch with nature.

Told you we cleaned out the plates! Even C was enjoying her food and her favourite was the bbq-ed chicken wings.

It was Daddy and I who did all the cycling but C was completely knocked out when she got back. She dozed off in the car on the ride home and slept soundly the night away. Oh, of course she woke up for her "milk". (Argh! Otherwise, it was a good night.)

It had been a very long while since we last met with the Aws.

Yeva had been unwell and we had been busy too. But we decided that the children should get together after their long break from each other. We went to Castle Beach and all the kids got down to business. Some how, they all knew what to do with the spades, the pail and the sand.

Just enjoy the pictures!

Initially, Cheryl was appropriately dressed with singlet and shorts but she got too comfortable and decided to sit on the sand and I had not brought along a fresh change of clothes so our little girl had to play in the sand with her diapers. We decided to keep her singlet on for modesty reasons.

But the kids had so much fun, we should do this again!

Cheryl and Daddy building sand castle

Daddy decided that a good day like this should not go to waste so we went to the beach with the new sand castle building tools that I got for Cheryl.

As you can see, Cheryl had a great time. Daddy also had fun using the tools. It is not easy building and moulding the sand castle but given time and practice, (which means there will be more trips to the beach) I am sure Daddy's architectural skills will improve!

When we first got there, Cheryl didn't like the feel of sand at all but it was only for a moment before she got used to it. In fact she got so comfortable, she was sitting on the sand!

We all had a wonderful time there though it was only a short 2 hours. Cheryl was exhausted and fell asleep in the 15 min ride home; re-charging for part 2 of the day where we went to Baby Heidi's full month celebration.

Here are some shots I managed to take of Cheryl and Lucas.

It is definitely a "love-hate" relationship! One moment, they want to share toys and food, the next, they want to get away from each other. Lucas is definitely very possessive of his Bob and Digger and I even entertained this thought of bringing toys out in the future for Cheryl. (hmm.. then again, this is not really something I want to cultivate.)

This year, the staff retreat was a departure from our previous years because we had to gather at East Coast Beach early in the morning.

Some of us were really excited while there were others who weren't as enthusiastic. We spent the whole morning at the beach building sand castles and thereafter, adjorned for lunch at some country club.

By the time we were done on the beach, we were already exhausted from the heat and hunger!

As you can see, I am not particularly keen... I am not a "sun-person" and will definitely melt if I stay too long in the heat. I was pretty upset as I was not really dressed for the occasion; should have gone in slippers and shorts. But thankful, the stylo sun glasses Aunt Rina gave me came in handy.

Aunt Caroline and Rina hard at work building their sand castle. See the tools that Aunt Caroline was so seriously inspecting, I bought a set for Cheryl too. I was thinking that the tools would really be useful when Zinnia, Bernie, Yeva and Cheryl come to the beach.

These pictures were taken after the sweating under the sun. Aunt Kavita and Hafizah enjoying their little chat while I was happily looking at some of the shots that Aunt Rina took of us.

That is the group I was with and our sand castle did not look really good compared to the rest. At least we tried. Honestly, there was a sense of satisfaction because we created something out of nothing.

We wanted to bring Cheryl to the Istana and the beach but the skies looked like it was going to open up and pour down on us. On the way there, Daddy decided we should skip the Istana and just bring her to the beach for a while before it rained.

Our little precious was so excited that she could not stop smiling. Baby steps for her but she is getting more steady by the day. Incidentally, this was the very spot Daddy and Mummy took our wedding pictures 3 years ago.

Cheryl enjoying the view and the breeze. She was quietly sitting on Daddy's lap and taking in the view. We should do this more often. The next time, we will come more prepared with food, mat and toys.

The areoplanes flew by every few minutes and Daddy was getting Cheryl to notice them.

Cheryl is slightly over 2 months old now. The first thing people say when they see her is "Wow, she's got lots of hair!"

We brought her out to the beach at Pasir Ris.

She's got that inquisitive look and she is always interested in the things around her.